A mother discovered that her longtime best friend had allegedly been pretending to be her daughter’s mother and sharing the child’s photographs with coworkers.
Marissa, TikTok username @marissalayb, narrated the experience. In her TikTok video, she said that she learned about the deception after receiving a message from a woman who worked with her friend.
Marissa eventually confronted her friend, recorded a conversation in which the woman allegedly admitted what she had done and contacted police.
Coworker Warned Mom That Her Best Friend Was Posing as Her Daughter’s Mother
Marissa began her story by explaining how she discovered the alleged deception. “My best friend digitally kidnapped my daughter. Yeah. And here’s how I found out,” she said.
Marissa said she spent March 12 with her best friend and daughter when the friend mentioned problems at work. Marissa recalled, “On Thursday, March 12, my best friend and my daughter and I were out and about for the day, just hanging out.”
Marissa’s friend wanted to leave her job and Marissa asked, “Oh, okay. Like, why? Like, did something happen?”
Three days later, Marissa received a message from an unfamiliar woman on Facebook Messenger.
“Hey, mom to mom, I just feel like you need to know that one of your friends is posing as your daughter’s mother,” the woman wrote.
“I immediately go to the source. I messaged my best friend and I sent her the screenshot,” Marissa said. Her friend called within seconds and allegedly dismissed the accusation as a misunderstanding.
“She’s so crazy. She’s misconstruing the way I’ve spoken about the baby,” her friend said.
The friend also said, “I have never once said that I was her mom.”
Although her friend repeatedly told her to block the coworker, Marissa decided not to. “I never blocked her,” Marissa said.
Screenshots Revealed Friend Had Invented a Life Around the Baby
After discussing the suspicious phone call with her husband, Marissa decided to contact the coworker again.
The coworker sent screenshots of conversations in which the friend allegedly presented Marissa’s daughter as her own. One showed her discussing a doctor’s appointment for the child.
“The first one I got didn’t have a photo of my daughter, but it had, um, her saying she was taking her daughter to the doctor and pretty sure had her name in it,” Marissa recounted.
“The next screenshot I received was a Merry Christmas message with a photo of my daughter that she actually. I actually sent her, um, on Christmas and told her Merry Christmas with that photo,” Marissa said.
She added, “And then she saved it and sent it to her coworker and said, Merry Christmas.”
Another image was taken on December 27, when the friend accompanied Marissa to a tattoo appointment. Her daughter was in a playpen wearing only a diaper.
Marissa said, “My friend took a picture of her cause she was being all cute and smiley, whatever.”
She later discovered that the friend had shared the image with her coworker while discussing the child’s Christmas break.
Marissa said, “She sends her coworker this photo and updates them on their Christmas break and all of these things about how her daughter is, um, out of routine and kind of thrown off and this and that.”
The friend had also allegedly taken photographs from Marissa’s Facebook account and presented them as her own daughter’s pictures.
One message about the child’s first snowfall reportedly said: “The baby loved it, but mommy didn’t because it was so cold.”
Marissa also received screenshots containing an invented birth story. She said, “In the screenshot you will see where, um, she is talking about her birth story with my daughter.”
Mom Confronted Friend and Recorded Her Alleged Admission
Marissa learned that the coworker’s suspicions began after another woman recognized the child in the photographs and identified Marissa as her actual mother.
After receiving the screenshots, Marissa waited two or three hours before confronting her friend. The woman apologized over text and asked to speak by phone.
Marissa declined to meet in person but agreed to a recorded call. She said she lived in a one-party consent state and wanted a record of her friend’s admission.
The friend had also reportedly resigned from her job after learning that her coworkers knew about the situation. Marissa later shared the incident publicly on Facebook.
Police Visited Friend’s Home and Watched Her Delete the Photos
Marissa contacted law enforcement. According to her account, a county deputy visited the former friend’s home and watched as she deleted all the photographs of the child from her phone.
She said officers told her she could pursue charges, but she decided not to at that time.
“I can definitely press charges and all of these things I have chosen not to at this time,” Marissa explained, adding that she could change her mind.
Viewers Reacted to the Alleged Digital Kidnapping
Marissa’s TikTok story prompted strong reactions from viewers, with many expressing concern about the alleged deception and praising the coworker who alerted her.
One viewer commented, “Please press charges, that is so terrifying.”
Another said, “I apologize for my giant eye roll when I first heard “digitally kidnapped”. This is wild! I’m sorry you had to deal with that!”
Another praised the colleague and said, “That woman who told you is amazing. I hope her pillow is always cool and she gets all green lights forever.”
One user said, “S/O to the coworker who took the time to reach out because this is SCARY. Suddenly I don’t feel bad about not having friends.”
